Door bracket



, 1966 E. M. SPENCER 3,292,203

DOOR BRACKET Filed Feb. 10, 1964 p I "8/ JL9 134 fd 15 2 United StatesPatent 3,292,203 DOOR BRACKET Elbert M. Spencer, Wildwood, Ill.,assignor to Illinois Lock Company, a corporation of Illinois Filed Feb.10, 1964, Ser. No. 343,758 5 Claims. (Cl. 16-66) This invention relatesto a bracket and more particularly to a door bracket for use with apiston and cylinder type door closer to connect the piston rod to adoor.

In the past, it has been common practice to connect the end of thepiston rod of a door closer pivotally or swingably to a door by pinningit to a bracket affixed to the door. Frequent opening and closing of thedoor over a period of time causes the pin and bracket bearing surfacesto wear. The connection becomes loose-fitting and often the pin willshear E.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a new and improveddoor bracket for use with piston and cylinder type door closers.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a door bracketwhich effectively eliminates the wear problem inherent in the presentlyknown pin joints.

A further object of this invention resides in providing a new andimproved door bracket for releasably and pivotally connecting the pistonrod of a piston and cylinder type door closer to a door.

A feature of the invention is that the piston rod has opposed shouldersand the bracket has a pair of arms which extend through the grooves oneither side of the rod with bearing surfaces engaging the shoulder.

Further features and advantages of the present invention will readily beapparent from the following specification and the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View of a portion of a door with a closer andbracket embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken along line 22 of FIGURE1;

FIGURE 3 is an elevation of the door bracket;

FIGURE 4 is an end view of the bracket taken along line 44 of FIGURE 2;and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIGURE2.

The present invention, as embodied in the device shown in the drawings,includes a bracket indicated generally at secured to a swingable member,as door 11, for releasably and pivotally connecting the end of pistonrod 13 of a piston and cylinder type closer 14 to the door. The pistonrod 13 is grooved with a reduced neck portion 13a defining a pair ofshoulders 13b and 130 and a head 13d.

The bracket 10 is generally J-shaped and comprises an elongate, legportion 15 of U-channel cross-section having a pair of holes 16 and 17therethrough which receive screws 18 and 19 for securing the bracket todoor 11. The bracket has a tapered mid-portion 20 supporting a pair ofspaced apart arms 21 and 22 which receive the neck portion 13a of pistonrod 13 therebetween.

Each of the arms 21 and 22 has a pair of oppositely facing roundedbearing surfaces 23 and 24 which engage the shoulders 13b and 130 of thepiston rod. End flanges 25 and 26 on arms 21 and 22 engage the head 13dof the piston rod to retain the rod between the arms 21 and 22 duringopening and closing of the door 11. The diameterpf the head is such thatit is supported by channel edges 27-28 or 29-30, depending on thedirection of 3,292,203- Patented Dec. 20, 1966 opening of the door.Thus, reduced neck surface 13a is centered between the arms 21 and 22.

The oppositely facing rounded bearing surfaces 23 and 24 are spacedapart a distance substantially equal to the length of the reduced neckportion 13a of the piston rod so that the rod is held againstlongitudinal movement relative to the door while allowed to rock on therounded until the shoulder portion 13b is substantially parallel to flatportion 37 of arm 21 and the piston rod can be removed from the bracket.The closer is reassembled with the bracket by reversing these steps.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention is herein disclosed forpurposes of explanation, various modifications thereof, after study ofthe specification, will be apparent to those skilled in the art to whichthe invention pertains. Reference should accordingly be had to theappended claims in determining the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A bracket for a piston and cylinder door closer having a piston rodwith a reduced neck portion defining a pair of shoulders and a head,comprising: a leg portion fixedly secured to a swingable door and a pairof spaced apart arms which receive the reduced neck portion of saidpiston rod therebetween, each of said arms having a pair of oppositelydirected convexly rounded bearing surfaces adapted to engage saidshoulders and means on said arms for retaining said rod therebetween.

2. The bracket of claim 1 wherein said last named means is defined by anend flange on each of said arms engaging the head of said piston rod toretain said rod between said arms.

3. A bracket for a piston and cylinder door closer having a piston rodwith a reduced neck portion defining a pair of shoulders, comprising: aleg portion adapted to be fixedly secured to a swingable door and asingle pair of spaced apart arms which are adapted to receive thereduced neck portion of said piston rod therebetween, each of said armshaving a pair of oppositely facing rounded convex bearing surface meansfor engaging said shoulders, and means on each arm outwardly of saidsurface means for retaining the piston rod between the arms for enablingsaid shoulders to rock on said rounded surface means during movement ofsaid piston rod.

4. A bracket for a piston and cylinder door closer having a piston rodwith a reduced neck portion defining a pair of shoulders and a head,comprising: a leg portion adapted to be fixedly secured to a swingabledoor and a single pair of spaced apart arms which are adapted to receivethe reduced neck portion of said piston rod therebetween, each of saidarms having a pair of oppositely directed rounded convex bearing surfacemeans adapted to engage said shoulders for enabling said shoulders torock on said rounded surface means during movement of said piston rod,each of said arms having an end flange for engaging the head of saidpiston rod to releasably and pivotally retain said rod between saidarms.

5. A door closer assembly comprising: first and second members mountedfor longitudinal movement relative to one another; means forming arecess inwardly of one end of said second member and extendingthereacross to define shoulders at opposite sides of the recess; a firstbracket connected adjacent one end of said first member; and a secondbracket connected adjacent said one end of said second member, saidsecond bracket including a mounting portion and a pair of arms extendingoutwardly from said mounting portion, each arm including a first portionextending across said recess and a second portion at the end of saidfirst portion having means for retaining said second member between saidarms, said first portions each having an accurate abutment surface onopposite sides thereof, each abutment surface being engageable with oneof said shoulders for moving said second memher in one directionrelative to said first member, and: each abutment surface :being convexto accommodate, pivoting movement between said second member; and said 1second bracket and to provide substantially point contact;

between the abutment surfaces and the shoulders to minimize weartherebetween.

References Cited by the Examiner a UNITED STATES PATENTS EDWARD C.ALLEN, Primary Examiner.

J. H. MCGLYNN, Assistant Examiner.

1. A BRACKET FOR A PISTON AND CYLINDER DOOR CLOSER HAVING A PISTON RODWITH A REDUCED NECK PORTION DEFINING A PAIR OF SHOULDERS AND A HEAD,COMPRISING: A LEG PORTION FIXEDLY SECURED TO A SWINGABLE DOOR AND A PAIROF SPACED APART ARMS WHICH RECEIVE THE REDUCED NECK PORTION OF SAIDPISTON ROD THEREBETWEEN, EACH OF SAID ARMS HAVING A PAIR OF OPPOSITELYDIRECTED CONVEXLY ROUNDED BEARING SURFACES ADAPTED TO ENGAGE SAIDSHOULDERS AND MEANS ON SAID ARMS FOR RETAINING SAID ROD THEREBETWEEN.